A crackling, well-written yarn that expertly takes its spitfire characters through plenty of twists and turns.
After a horrific accident, one teenager and her friends begin to suspect that there is something very wrong in their quiet little town.
This first book in Ashta’s Ridgemore series finds Joss Bryson and her best friends—Hunt Fletcher, Layla Rafferty, Brady Rafferty, and Griffin Conway (on whom Joss has a devastating secret crush)—looking forward to their senior year of high school when the unthinkable happens: Brady suffers a fall from a balcony and dies…except he doesn’t. Despite being impaled on exposed rebar, Brady makes a miraculous recovery that surprises everyone—except for the friend group’s parents, who suddenly begin acting strangely and attempt to downplay Brady’s accident. Soon, Brady begins suffering from increasingly realistic nightmares about him and his friends growing up in a lab that begin to feel more like memories: “Everything about it feels familiar, like I’d know it again if I saw it. And, guys, when we were there, we didn’t call our parents Mom or Dad. We didn’t even know their names. We were their patients, their experiments, nothing more.” As Joss and her friends slowly uncover the truth, the arrival of a stranger (whose snake oil salesman persona practically screams, ‘I’m evil!’) threatens everything they have ever known and loved. Ashta’s natural-sounding dialogue thankfully never panders to the teenage cast. The various revelations strewn throughout the novel prove genuinely surprising, moving the plot forward in refreshingly organic ways. The author has created a loveably acerbic and witty narrator in Joss, whose sarcasm can’t hide a fierce love for and loyalty to her friends. From the novel’s opening line (“As I tipped back my beer, I strained to hear what Layla was saying to that jackass Rich over the noise of the party”), the narrative builds momentum as it moves toward vaguely sinister territory before the jaw-dropping cliffhanger of an ending, which will leave readers impatiently awaiting the next installment.
A crackling, well-written yarn that expertly takes its spitfire characters through plenty of twists and turns.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2024
ISBN: 9781039478527
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 4, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful.
A family’s secrets rise to the surface as a young man investigates a suspected murder.
Evander, who’s 17 and lonely, never leaves his room in the manor on Hazelthorn Estate. He’s told he’s too fragile and is locked away “for his safety” while an elderly butler feeds him brain-addling “medicine.” But one night changes Evander’s life—and the manor’s future—forever. Byron Lennox-Hall, Evander’s billionaire guardian and the family’s patriarch, dies unexpectedly. Relatives descend upon Hazelthorn like vultures as a shocking twist reveals that Byron left everything to Evander alone. Without Byron around to keep his only grandchild and presumed heir, Laurence “Laurie” Lennox-Hall, away from his ward, Laurie and Evander become the unlikeliest of allies. When they were boys, Laurie attempted to kill Evander—but, maddeningly, Evander can’t stop thinking about him. He also suspects that someone murdered Byron. Drews’ latest starts off as a straightforward whodunit and turns into something that’s far more sinister—and delicious. From descriptions of moth-eaten decay to vivid floral imagery, Drews luxuriates in atmospheric prose. Their literary green thumb nurtures intertwining themes of monstrosity and abuse alongside yearning, first love, queerness, and mystery. The slow-burn romance at the root of this blend of gothic and body horror is as tender as it is unforgettable. Evander is cued as autistic, and main characters present white.
A uniquely arranged bouquet of terrors, as disturbing as it is beautiful. (author’s note) (Horror. 13-18)Pub Date: Oct. 28, 2025
ISBN: 9781250376299
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters.
When star hockey player Alec Barczewski’s estranged childhood friend, Dani Collins, moves to town, they end up in a mutually beneficial fake-dating relationship that reignites old feelings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Dani and her mom move in with Dani’s hockey legend grandfather in Southview, Minnesota, where she spent a month every summer as a child and where her friendship with Alec grew. Between visits, the two were pen pals, but they eventually fell out of touch. Despite some tensions over their loss of friendship, the high school seniors reconnect. Desperate to get off Harvard’s waitlist, Dani needs another extracurricular activity, while Alec—whose reputation took a hit when a photo of him holding a bong appeared on social media—is eager to improve his tarnished image for NHL scouts. The pair strike a deal: They’ll fake date, making Alec look like a stable guy whose academically gifted girlfriend is related to hockey royalty, and in exchange, he’ll get Dani a team manager position that will catch the eye of Harvard’s admissions officers. Eventually, complicated feelings about their past, stressful family relationships, and their brewing romance boil over. Romance fans will love the deliciously tension-filled scenes between Alec and Dani, who are believable friends with heavy demands weighing on them. They feel like real teenagers, and readers will enjoy rooting for them as the well-paced story unfolds. Main characters present white.
A compelling romance inhabited by complex and appealing characters. (Romance. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 30, 2025
ISBN: 9781665921268
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
